Rock Your 'Asanas' Yoga

So what else does a person do in South London on a Saturday night but engage in heavy metal yoga. No kidding, rock music, light show and heavy breathing; all part of the 'yoga' experience that my friend and I participated in on Saturday. Followed by a lentil curry and a glass of wine; they do things differently over here.

It was a bit odd for me – to say the least – and yet, I cannot argue with the positive effects that I have felt since doing this 'extreme sport' yoga. I of the 'Nordic Walking' persuasion and occasional yoga aficionado feel incredibly energized and dare I say it, quite changed as a result of this experience.

I had no idea what I was getting into when my very good friend of many years asked me if I'd like to join her in a yoga class on Saturday night. I thought, sure, I love yoga, really miss doing it and hey, what a fun way to hang out and spend time together.

There wasn't a whole lot of information about the night just that it was yoga and then a veggie meal. When I arrived in the yoga room I was somewhat startled to see two dj's and a huge table for spinning discs and a light show being set up. Well, a few minutes later, 35 bodies proceeded to chant, stretch, downward dog and shake our shakti's. Whoa – not what I was expecting at all.

When I shared this experience with my son over our 'Mother's Day' lunch on Sunday (yes, they have a different day than Canada) he burst out laughing and said that it reminded him of an episode of the 'Peep Show' which is shot in South London – 'Rainbow Rhythms.' Later that night he put the episode on the tv for me to watch. What was hilariously funny for me was the degree to which my Saturday night mimicked this episode. It isn't a natural thing to blend yoga – quiet meditative practice – with loud rocking music and a light show.

I am a bit of a purist when it comes to yoga; I like it quiet, meditative, relaxing and to be honest, not that sweaty. If I tell you that 'Shavason' is my favourite position (the corpse pose) it will probably tell you a lot about my level of activity in yoga. So having such a wildly physical yoga experience was, for me, a uniquely South London experience.

Fusing South London and Yoga; the beginning of change indeed.